Parent - Child Duplicate
November 1, 2015.
Parent - Child Duplicate
There were seven tables at our Sunday afternoon Parent-Child duplicate game. As usual, there was a snack break at the half but at this game the players shared a special treat of fruit and desserts with those in the social bridge section of the Family Card Game event.
Joining some of the regulars, eight pairs were new to the Parent-Child game, though most were not new to duplicate bridge. A family of four, including a mother-daughter pair and father-son pair, came all the way from Discovery Bay for the event. One new pair included a student who is learning bridge at our Graham Middle School after school program, partnering her mom who had played some bridge years ago, but never duplicate.
In the North/South direction first place went to the father/son team of Jun Shi/Jonathan Shi who secured 65.56%. Second place went to John Miller/Jackson Miller who scored 57.22%.
In the East/West direction, the mother/son pair of Qing Lu/Michael Hu came in first with the highest overall score of 73.89%. Close behind were Bo Xiao/Rory Xiao with 70.56%
Family Card Game
Family Game day was a success with 7 full tables of Parent-Child duplicate, including several pairs new to that event, plus about an equal number of tables in the social bridge section. Most of those folks were brand new to bridge, and Frank Smoot gave a lesson.
Young players play with a parent or grandparent as partner, trying to win American Contract Bridge League (ACBL) masterpoints and enjoying each other's company. Director Will Watson plans the game so that each pair would be able to meet and play against almost all the others.
Duplicate bridge is one of the few competitive activities in which people of all ages can participate as equals. Participants in the Parent-Child duplicate range from youth to seniors, but each pair has to work together to score well. Bridge is also one of the few games in which new players have the opportunity to compete against and learn from established stars.
Participants in our events range from duplicate bridge novices to experienced ACBL Life Masters to a world champion--all enjoying the company as well as the challenge of the game itself. A typical reaction was one youth's first words as he and his father left, "Can we do that again?"
Grandparents and parents looking for ways to connect with their young family members and entice them away from their iPods and their Game Boys should consider taking up bridge as a family activity. The youngsters may end up teaching them a few things, and that's a great feeling for everyone.
Bridge games at our events are American Contract Bridge League (ACBL) sanctioned awarding masterpoints (MP) to high scorers. ACBL membership is not required for our games but is strongly suggested. You can join online or at the Bridge Center on the night of an event. Adult membership is $29 for the first year and junior membership only $15 per year. Both include a monthly print magazine and registration of masterpoints (start earning towards becoming a Life Master!).